Since early 1990s Hong Kong has set into motion ten major Airport Core
Programme Projects under the Port and Airport Development Strategy. These
integrated infrastructure projects, which were planned for completion in 1997,
are comprised of a replacement airport on an island, 1669 hectares of reclaimed
land, a new harbor crossing and land tunnels, new towns, a 34-km airport railway
and over 30 km of expressways, and the world's longest road/rail suspension
bridge. The scale, scope, and speed of these construction projects are probably
the greatest in the world to date. The potential noise impacts from
round-the-clock construction activities have been a significant issue for this
densely populated city where many of the residents are only tens of meters away
from the sites. The relentless pressure to proceed quickly with the projects
despite early slowdowns due to initial political uncertainties on the Strategy
have added constraints and complexities in implementing control measures against
the impacts. This paper covers the implementation aspects of the Environmental
Impact Assessment carried out, the monitoring role of the specially set up
Environmental Protection Offices, the statutory control of construction noise
under the Noise Control Ordinance, and, finally, selected case studies on noise
mitigation measures applied.